Africa

The land of the Big Five. The African continent. The African flower industry has had significant growth over the past decades.

Pioneers hailing from, for example, the Dutch floriculture sector, discovered the potential in the continent’s different countries where growing conditions for cut flowers are ideal. Not only does Africa have sufficient land, water and, of course, plentiful sunlight, but the altitude of the various locations makes Africa suitable for growing beautiful, quality products. 

Over the years there have been many developments. The total production area increased steadily and due to the improvement of varieties, crops became increasingly productive. More recently, flowers that were traditionally sent via the Netherlands are now being shipped directly to other destinations around the world. These developments are ongoing and will continue in the coming years, provided that sales remain above the desired level. 

The clock is still an important sales instrument for many growers, but direct trade has taken an important share of sales as well. This has also changed the desire for service. Royal FloraHolland has in response to these trends set up an international strategy based on the requested services. By establishing a digital marketplace and connecting logistics and financial services to it. We see it as our task to assist our growers in their production and help them in their sales to the various markets. 

Through various pilots with growers and wholesalers, we have been able to gain experience and the necessary knowledge to scale up our services. We are working intensively to further develop these services and ensure that they become available to all parties in the marketplace. Additionally, Royal FloraHolland has also set up a strong international organisation. The bundling of international knowledge helps us continue to respond to future international developments. At the IFTEX Expo soon to be held in Nairobi, Royal FloraHolland will be happy to inform its customers about these developments. I look forward to meeting you there.